The Delancey's Revenge
by Litta
Summary: Sequal to 'Caught With A Delancey' The story of Mush, Crack, and the others continue as the Delancey's decide they aren't through with their sister.
1. Chapter 1

Mush had already sold his last newspaper. He was waiting on Crack for once. Usually she finished selling first. When she finished selling her last paper she joined him on the bench. A month had passed since she left her brothers to be with Mush and the newsies. She still enjoyed selling papers every day and hanging out with some of the other newsies she knew.

"What took you so long?" Mush asked her.

"Whadda you mean 'what took so long'? Ain't I the one usually waitin' for you to sell your last pape?"

"What's that gotta do wit' anything?" They began wrestling and fell off the bench. Then they got up and headed back to the lodging house.

"Aren't da others at Tibby's?" Crack asked. Mush shook his head.

"No, we're eatin' at da lodging house today. It's Jack's birthday, or at least when we celebrate his birthday."

"So today isn't his actual birthday?"

"No. Jack doesn't even know when his birthday is, so we decided every year we'd celebrate when he became a newsie instead."

Crack shrugged and followed Mush. The others were already there. They had set up a few decorations, mainly signs that had "Happy Birthday Jack" painted on them. Kloppman had helped them with the spelling. There was food set out on a table in the back room: some bread and cheese, a bowl of apples, and lemonade to drink. They _were_ newsies after all, and couldn't afford much for a celebration. Mush explained to Crack that it was supposed to be a surprise, since Jack never remembered his "birthday."

"When's Jack supposed to get here?" she asked.

"Any minute," Racetrack told her. "We were beginning to wonder if Mush had forgotten about the party too. Luckily you showed up before Jack got here." At that moment Jack walked through the door. He noticed the signs and all the newsies gathered.

"I wondered why no one was at Tibby's," he said. They all laughed and brought him to the back room.

They talked and ate most of the day, and visited Medda's in the evening. She gave Jack a few dollars. She let them watch her performance backstage. They left when she closed. It had been a good day.

The next day was back to normal and Crack finished selling her papers before Mush. He told her to go on ahead to Tibby's and he'd catch up to her. She was halfway there when she saw her brothers walking towards her. They had seen her too. She stared at them a minute without moving, then dashed across the street into an alley. She had been hoping to lose them, but they had expected it. They shoved her into a corner.

"Like being a newsie?" Oscar asked her. "Perhaps you enjoy hanging around those street rats."

"What do you want?" Crack asked. Morris had her pinned to the wall so she couldn't get away.

"Nothing . . . right now that is. We're gonna make you pay for betraying us for those newsies. You better be watchin' your back from now on." Morris let go of her and they watched her run out of the alley.

She had been hoping her brothers would leave her alone, but apparently they were still bitter about her leaving them for Mush. It seemed that they wanted revenge. She didn't want to worry Mush, since they were more likely to go after her rather than him. When she reached Tibby's they asked her where she had been. Mush had arrived before her. She started cracking her knuckles.

"I saw my brudders and wanted to avoid them, so I had to get here by a different way. That's what took so long." It was mostly the truth. When they were walking back Mush started talking with Kid Blink about making up headlines. Crack used the opportunity to talk to Racetrack.

"Hey Race, can you keep an eye on Mush for me?" she asked him.

"What for?"

"Just in case my brudders try something."

"What makes you think they're gonna try something?"

"Nothing, I just don't want him to get hurt if they do. So can you?" Racetrack agreed and Crack relaxed a little. As far as she was concerned she only had to look out for herself. She had no idea what the Delancey brothers actually had in store for her.


	2. Chapter 2

Crack was constantly on the lookout for her brothers. While she and Mush were selling papers she was always scanning the streets. She never saw them, but she still didn't relax. Luckily Mush was too busy talking with the others to notice her anxiety.

The next day she was selling papers with Mush again. She was waiting for him to finish. She saw two guys dart behind a building and thought they looked like her brothers. She made sure Mush was still there and then walked towards the building. There were two boys having a smoke, but they weren't her brothers. She went back to Mush but couldn't find him. She looked all around the street. She started running towards the harbor to see if he was selling papers there. He wasn't. She decided to check Tibby's and see if the other newsies had seen Mush. As she was running she wondered if her brothers could possibly have Mush. She arrived at Tibby's and stopped. Mush was sitting next to Racetrack. She caught her breath before walking over.

"Where were you?" Mush asked her.

"What do you mean? I was looking for you."

"Me? After I sold my last pape I couldn't find you. I figured you'd gone to Tibby's so dat's where I went." Crack gave herself a mental kick for overreacting.

She joined the others, sitting next to Racetrack's girlfriend, Madison. She didn't normally eat with them because she was working, but when she did Crack always sat with her. It was nice to have another girl around. Madison went back to the lodging house with everyone since she wasn't working. The girls ended up sitting on a couch watching the boys play cards. Madison was asking Crack what it was like being a female newsie.

"It ain't dat bad. I get ready before da others get up and Mush makes sure none of da boys bother me."

"But where do you sleep?"

"With Mush." Crack laughed at the look of shock on Madison's face. "I only sleep in da same bunk since der ain't any others I can use. We don't do nothing. Anything else you curious about?"

"Race was telling me that you asked him to keep an eye on Mush. Don't you trust him?" Crack smiled.

"Of course I do. I'm just worried that my brudders might try to soak him." At Madison's blank expression, Crack explained how she became a newsie, mentioning only the most important details. They continued talking, but soon Madison left. Crack joined the boys and beat Kid Blink at a hand of poker. After that they all went to bed.

During the next couple of days Crack was determined not to let Mush out of her sight. She never lost sight of him while she sold her papers. When they finished they bought lunch and ate it by the harbor. They felt like eating by themselves, away from the others. Crack was starting to relax, thinking maybe her brothers had forgotten about their threat. That was when she made her mistake.

She finished selling her papers before Mush. She decided to leave Mush to go get their lunch and bring it back. The store was close so she was only gone a few minutes. When she came back she didn't see Mush. She fought down panic and told herself to stay calm. She still hadn't seen him and was just heading to the harbor when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Looking for someone?" She recognized her brother's voice immediately.

"Where is he Oscar?"

"Oh look, you got me lunch." He grabbed the sandwich she had bought for Mush and took a bite. "Now, what was it you was asking about? Oh dat's right. It looks like you lost your boyfriend." He took another bite of the sandwich.

"Where is he?" she repeated.

"What makes you think I know?" He smirked at her and took another bite. She glared at him.

"Just tell me where he is." She waited while he finished the sandwich.

"Okay, so maybe we do got him. You wanna find him?" Crack said yes. "Follow me." Crack knew it was a bad idea, but she had to find Mush. Oscar led her away from the street, down an alley, and farther away from people. Finally they entered a deserted building. "He's in da basement." He led her down some stairs and opened the door for her, revealing more stairs leading to the floor of the basement.

"Mush!" she yelled out. There was no answer and no one appeared to be in the room. "Oscar, where"

Her sentence was cut short as Oscar pushed her down the stairs into the basement. She heard him slam the door and slide the lock into place. She banged on the door and yelled out at her brother, but she only heard him laughing on the other side. Then he said something.

"We never had your newsie, but now dat we have you he'll be easy to catch." His footsteps echoed in her ears. She was locked in a basement in a building no one knew about, without any way out. She sat down in a corner, happy at least with the thought that Mush might still be safe.


	3. Chapter 3

Mush was beginning to wonder where Crack was. She'd been gone all day. After he sold his last paper he looked around for her. When he didn't see her he assumed she had gone to Tibby's. She wasn't there and none of the guys had seen her. He ate his lunch, hoping she'd show up late again. Everyone finished eating and there was still no sign of her. He went back to the street they'd been selling on, but she wasn't there. He spent the rest of the day looking for her. Finally Jack told Mush he had to get some rest.

"You can keep looking for her tomorrow," Jack said. Mush agreed, but was up early the next day looking for her.

He sold some newspapers, but it wasn't as fun without Crack. He got the others to help look for her. This time Jack, Kid Blink, and Racetrack spent the day trying to find the Delancey brothers. Either the Delancey's didn't want to be found or the newsies were bad at tracking them. They gave up and went to Tibby's. Mush wasn't there. They ate dinner and waited around, but he still didn't show.

"What's going on?" Kid Blink asked to no one in particular. "First Crack and now Mush. You think the Delancey's have anything to do with it Jack?"

"I don't know Kid, but dat would be my guess."

"I say we soak 'em once we find them!" Racetrack told them. Jack only laughed while Kid Blink agreed. No one was ever opposed to soaking the Delancey brothers.

They all went back to the lodging house for the night. None of the other newsies had any better news. Racetrack wondered if maybe Crack and Mush had run off together. The others laughed but knew that wasn't the reason. Soon after they all went to bed.

---------

Mush was sitting on a hard bed. His body was stiff from an uncomfortable sleep. He was thinking of Crack, hoping she was doing better than he was. He thought about the previous day. He had been looking for Crack all day. He was heading to Tibby's to see if the others had found anything when the Delancey brothers caught him. They tied his hands and gave him a black eye when he tried to fight back. They marched him all the way to Brooklyn and put him in the refuge there. Since their refuge had a new warden it wasn't as bad. The Brooklyn refuge was still a miserable place though. That's where he was now. He had been put in a room by himself at the Delancey's request. They hadn't given him anything to eat or drink, and only one thin blanket to keep him warm. They still hadn't brought him breakfast. He was beginning to wonder if they'd ever give him food. He lay back on the bed and ignored the emptiness in his stomach.

---------

Jack was worried. It had been three days since anyone had seen Crack and two days for Mush. They had searched all over the city but found nothing. Jack wasn't paying attention to selling his papers. He ended up with extras, without enough money to buy lunch at Tibby's. So instead he bought a cheap sandwich and ate it while walking towards the lodging house. He came to it and saw the Delancey's leaving in the direction he had come from. He followed them. They led him to an old building in an area of town no on ever went. He realized Mush and/or Crack could be held there. He waited outside when the Delancey's went in. After an hour, the Delancey's left again. Then he went inside. The floor was covered in a layer of dust, so he could see their footsteps. He followed them down some stairs to a door. _The idiots left the key hanging next to the lock._ It was hanging on a nail on the wall. He unlocked the door and opened it. It was dark inside. There was a lantern hanging at the bottom. He climbed down the stairs and looked around.

"Jack?" He turned and saw a shape in the corner move.

"Yeah it's me. Is dat you Crack?"

"Yeah." She crawled out of the corner. Jack couldn't see her very well. He helped her up the stairs and locked the door behind them. In the light he could see the damage from her brothers. Both eyes were bruised and there was blood oozing from a cut on her forehead.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"My brudders tricked me and locked me in dat basement. They never gave me nothing to eat, but they beat me. At first they wanted to know where's to find Mush, but they stopped asking dat. They started coming in just to beat me. Is Mush safe?" He hated to tell her, especially seeing the hope in her face. But he had to.

"I don't think so. He disappeared the day after you did. We haven't heard anything about him, and we think your brudders may have somethin' to do with it." Crack didn't say anything, but started cracking her knuckles. She was too worried about Mush. Jack took her back to the lodging house and put a bandage on her forehead. "I'm gonna go see Spot Conlon and see if he's hoid anything yet."

"I'm comin' wit' you," she told him. He knew it was useless to try to stop her.

They set out at a brisk pace and reached Brooklyn before the sun set. The Brooklyn newsies were out at the harbor. Jack called out to Spot instead of walking through all the newsies along the pier. Spot walked over, spit in his hand, and shook Jack's hand.

"How you been Jackey-boy?"

"Well actually, we got a missing newsie. You heard anything 'bout it?" Spot shook his head.

"Nope, but this here's Brooklyn. Why would one of your newsies turn up 'round these parts?"

"Just wondering. Let me know if you'se do." They spent a few more minutes discussing things Crack didn't understand, something about an old strike. Then Jack turned around and she followed him out of Brooklyn. Back at the lodging house Jack got some food for Crack. She was exhausted, but wanted food before she went to bed. She fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.

Crack woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. No one else was up, but then they were all pretty heavy sleepers. She checked to make sure she was decent, then opened the door to see who was there. It was a young man, around the same age as most of the newsies.

"Where's Jack?" he asked. He was hunched over and panting. He looked like he had run a long distance.

"He's sleepin'. What do you need?"

"I gots a message from Spot Conlon. He says he found your newsie. I'm s'posed to bring you'se back wit' me." She told him to wait there and ran upstairs to wake Jack. She didn't care when he told her five more minutes, being still half asleep, but shook him harder till he sat up.

"What's a matter?" he asked her.

"Spot found Mush!" she shouted at him. A few other newsies were waking up because of all the noise.

"How do you know?" He was already pulling on pants and a shirt.

She told him about the newsie outside. Jack woke up Racetrack and Kid Blink and told them to get ready. The four of them went downstairs and joined the newsie. He had caught his breath by now and was no longer panting. They followed him to the lodging house for Spot's newsies. Spot was waiting for them just inside the door.

"Where is he Spot?" Jack asked immediately.

"He's in da refuge Jack. I found out dat some goons of yours brought him there a few days ago. I know how to get him out when you're ready."

"I wanna break him now," Jack told him.

"Can't do it now Jackey-boy. People's already up and movin' about. We'd be caught for sure. Tonight's da best. After the warden goes to bed we'll get him out. You can hang around here all day if you like."

"Thanks Spot."

Jack and the others spent the day at the Brooklyn newsies' lodging house. They looked around and compared it to their own home. The buildings were similar. The sleeping room and the beds were identical. The newsies played cards to pass some of the time. After the other newsies had finished selling their papers they all ate lunch together. Towards the end of the day they met in the back room of the lodging house to prepare for breaking Mush out. Spot had everything planned out.

". . . so after that we can climb back down the roof and beat it. We shouldn't run into anyone. Besides, the bulls don't patrol that area." Once everyone understood the plan they left for the refuge.


	4. Chapter 4

It didn't take long to reach the refuge. They snuck around the back and climbed the ladder up to the roof. From there one of Spot's newsies uncoiled the rope he'd been put in charge of carrying. He gave one end to Spot, who tied it around him. With a few newsies holding the other end they lowered him over the edge. He reached the top window and told them to stop. He knocked on the window and waited. Finally a young boy opened the window.

"Spot, whadda you'se doing 'ere?"

"Let me in Wrench." The boy stood back and Spot crawled in. he untied the rope. "Where's da new boy?" Wrench picked open the door and let Spot out.

"Down the hall and right. He's in da second room."

"Thanks Wrench. Wait here. I'm gonna bring him back and get him out through your window."

Spot walked quietly through the hallway. He found Mush's room easily enough. He turned the handle. It wasn't locked. He figured it must be kept locked from the inside. Mush was sitting on a bed in the corner. He looked up and smiled with he saw Spot.

"Spot!"

"Ssh!" Spot told him. He didn't want to wake the warden up. "Follow me."

Mush got up and followed Spot. They got back to Wrench's room. Spot tied the rope around Mush and pulled twice. That told the others to start pulling. They pulled Mush up and then lowered the rope again fro Spot. He tied it, thanked Wrench, and pulled twice. They hoisted him up. When he was back on the roof he saw Mush hugging Crack. He helped his newsie roll up the rope and told everyone to start climbing down the ladder.

"The warden may be sleeping but we should still get outta here quick," Spot told them. They climbed down the ladder, Jack in the lead and Spot at the end. Spot led the group away from the refuge. While they were walking, Jack started questioning Spot.

"So Spot, how come there's no bars on da windows like there are at out refuge?"

"The only rooms with no bars are the single rooms. They're all on the third story and there's no way to climb down the walls without falling. The kids don't have rope and they only get on blanket so that won't do much good either. The warden just takes the money for himself."

"I guess dat makes sense." They were close to the lodging house when they saw a group of people blocking their way out of the alley.

"Who's there?" Spot called out.

"It's the Delancey brudders," Jack told him. They had stepped into the light so Jack's crew would recognize them. "They got some buddies with them."

"We knew you'd try to get Mush out," Oscar said, "so it was easy to find you. But you had no right to take our sister from us Cowboy."

"She doesn't belong to you'se," Mush told them. "We take better care of her."

"And what kind of brudders lock their sister in a basement?" Jack asked.

"We're her brudders so we have da right to treat her any way we want," Oscar said. "We're here to take her back. Now hand her over."

"I ain't goin' nowhere with you," Crack told Oscar.

Oscar, Morris, and their buddies started moving forward. There were seven, including the Delancey's. The newsies numbered ten. Mush's only concern was Crack. He was holding her behind him, preparing for the Delancey's attack. Jack was looking a little worried because the Delancey's had weapons. The only had the rope they'd used to get Mush out.

"jack, take your newsies and get outta here," Spot said.

"but you'll be outnumbered, and they got weapons."

"Dis is my territory and I'm tellin' you to leave."

"But—"

"Scram!"

Jack nodded. He grabbed the others and pushed them back behind Spot's newsies. While they ran the others blocked the Delancey's gang. They could hear sounds of fighting until they turned the corner. They found their way through the alleys and went back to their own lodging house. Kid Blink and Racetrack questioned Jack while Mush and Crack sat on the couch and caught their breath.

"Why'd we leave 'em there Jack?" Kid Blink was asking. "Without us they're outnumbered. We could've helped them fight the Delancey's off. I would've enjoyed getting a few hits at the Delancey's myself. Sorry," he added, looking at Crack. She waved her hand to say she didn't mind. She wouldn't have minded getting a few hits at her brothers too.

"We left cause Spot wanted us to. It's his territory and he has the right to defend it with his newsies alone. Besides, when has a Brooklyn newsie ever been beaten in a fight?"

"We should check on them tomorrow to make sure they're okay," Mush said. They agreed to visit Spot the next day and to go to bed immediately.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack and the others were still sleeping when the rest of the newsies woke up. Crutchy decided to wake them up. As soon as he saw Mush and Crack back he told the other newsies and the noise was enough to wake them up.

"You're back!" Crutchy shouted. "Where were you? We was all worried that the Delancey brudders had kidnapped you or something."

"Let the couple breathe," Jack said. "They'll tell what happened when they've been awake for more than a few minutes." While the newsies got ready to sell papers, Jack talked to the group from the previous night. "After we finish selling papes meet back here and we'll head to Brooklyn." They nodded and joined the newsies in getting ready.

On the way to get their papers Crack told Mush about her brothers' threat and everything that had happened to her. Mush examined the cut on her forehead thankful that Jack had bandaged it. She apologized for not telling Mush what her brothers had said.

"It's okay, so long as you tell me next time," Mush told her. He kissed her on the cheek and slipped his arm around her waist. Mush told her what happened to him. They got their papers and sold them quickly. Then they met the others back at their home.

Once everyone was there they walked over to Brooklyn. Jack knocked on the door and a newsie led them to Spot. He was sitting on the couch eating an orange. He got a crooked smile on his face when he saw the visitors.

"Jackey-boy! I wasn't expecting you back here for anudder month. What's you here for?"

"We's just wanted to make sure you was all alright after we left you last night. Had to make sure the Delancey's didn't bust you up."

"Take a look and tell me if you think the Delancey's hurt us."

They had already seen Spot's black eye. The other newsies from last night came over and greeted them. There were a few cuts and bruises, another black eye, and one busted lip, but that was the worst it got. Spot told them how his newsies had overpowered the Delancey's gang and chased them out of Brooklyn. No one had suffered any real injuries. Assured that everyone was fine, Jack took his newsies and left. They got back home in time for cards.

The next two days everything seemed to be back to normal. They sold papers and ate lunch with no surprises. There was no sign of the Delancey's. The newsies enjoyed the days. Crack and Mush spent part of one afternoon swimming at the harbor. They had been floating on their backs, enjoying the calm water, when someone jumped in between them and destroyed the peace.

"Hey, who's da wise guy huh?" Mush asked when he resurfaced. He saw Kid Blink smirking and threw a punch. Kid dodged, pushed Mush back underwater, and swam over him to get to Crack.

"How's it goin' Crack?" he asked innocently.

"You stay away or you'll get a beatin' from me the boys will never let you live down." Kid put on a hurt face, but changed back to a smile when he tried to dunk her.

Crack evaded him and kicked him in the back. Then she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. She shoved him towards Mush, who shoved him right back at her. Kid took a swing at her, but overshot and fell flat on his face in the water. Once he was facing away from her she jumped on his back and held him underwater for a minute before letting him up. He came up sputtering. After a few breaths she pushed him down again. Mush and the others that had gathered watched in fascination as she continued to submerge him. When she let him up for good the boys cheered.

"Way to show her how it's done Kid!" Crutchy shouted sarcastically. Kid swam over to Crack and told her he had let her beat him. The newsies just laughed. A few more games in the water and everyone got out to dry in the remaining sunlight.

The next day they all watched Medda perform and stayed with her late into the night. It was the day after that, while they were selling papers, that they got some bad news. Bolt, one of Spot's newsies, came running to talk to Jack. It was closing in on noon. He stopped at the first newsies he saw, which were Mush and Crack.

"Where's Jack?" Bolt asked.

"He's down by Medda's," Mush told him. "We'll take you to him." He and Crack led Bolt to Jack. Bolt said nothing until he saw Jack, and then the words tumbled out of his mouth faster than Jack could hear them.

"Jack it's terrible! The Delancey's did it and we know it 'cause no one else could have. The flames got everywhere and nothing's left so you gotta help us! Spot's coming and everyone's with him. After it happened we didn't know what to do but Spot decided we'd go to you 'cause you'd know what to do. Please, you gotta help us udderwise–" Jack help up his hand to get Bolt to stop talking.

"Hold on. Now what exactly happened dat's got you so woiked up?"

"A fire! Dey boined down the whole house and we got no place to live!"

"You're tellin' me the Delancey's boined down your lodging house?" Bolt nodded. "So where exactly is Spot?"

"He's waiting by da harbor for you."

Jack told Mush and Crack to go back to the lodging house and followed Bolt to the harbor. Spot was in the water with the rest of the newsies but got out when he saw Jack coming. They didn't shake hands but got right to the point.

"Bolt tells me your lodging house boined down. Dat true?"

"Yeah. We know it was the Delancey brudders and their goons. We was hoping you knew of a place we could stay. Or maybe a way we could run into the Delancey's so we'se could soak 'em!"

"I'll have to look around for a place for you to stay, but until den you can stay in our lodging house. And we ain't seen the Delancey's since we left you to bust 'em up. Tell your newsies to get outta da water and follow me back to your temporary home."

Spot told the newsies to get out of the water and dry off. Once everyone was dressed again they followed Jack to the Manhattan newsies' lodging house. Jack's newsies were shocked when they saw Spot's crew walking into their home. There were 20 Brooklyn newsies including Spot. Racetrack was the first to speak up.

"What's Brooklyn doin' here?"

"They're gonna be stayin' here for awhile," Jack told him. "because the Delancey brudders burned down their building."

"You got a problem with me and my boys stayin' here?" Spot asked. He stepped towards Racetrack like he was going to start a fight. Racetrack took a step forward, but Jack stepped between the two.

"All right now hold it you two. Spot's gang is only going to be staying here temporarily. If you got a comment Race then keep it to yourself."

A few of the Manhattan newsies, Mush, Crack, and Crutchy, mingled with the Brooklyn newsies, but most of the newsies stuck with their own groups. Jack and Spot left to scout for a new lodging house.

After a few days, Race accused Spot of making moves on his girlfriend Madison, which promptly erupted into an all out fight between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Jack was finally able to get the instigators separated, but from then on fights were constantly starting between the two. After two weeks together, Jack announced that he'd finally found the Brooklyn newsies a place to stay. Crack was thrilled, because she'd been feeling responsible for the trouble because it was her brothers that started it all. She shared her feelings with Mush, who came up with an idea to get back at the Delancey's once and for all.


	6. Chapter 6

The fire started in the bedroom, caused by a candle that hadn't been blown out and knocked over by a careless hand. It spread quickly, catching the beds, the walls, and any clothes laying about on fire. Luckily, no one was in the room sleeping. Everyone was outside, standing in an alley across the street.

"Are you sure dis is gonna woik?" Race asked Mush.

"Of course," he said, trying to sound more confident that he actually did.

Everyone had agreed to burn down their lodging house, but only after finding a new lodging house as to avoid staying with the Brooklyn newsies. Everyone knew Race was still itching to fight Spot over Madison.

Soon they saw two figures run towards the house. They all recognized the Delancey brothers. The two brothers dashed into the building, presumably looking for Crack. Mush had decided that as much as they might despise their sister, they wouldn't actually let her die. After a few minutes, just as the cops arrived at the scene, the Delancey brothers came out. The police assumed that they had started the fire, being know for trouble-makers, and carted them away to jail. The newsies knew the Delancey's would get out sooner or later, by whatever means necessary, but they hoped getting taken to jail would cure then of their desire to make others lives miserable.

Once the Delancey's were gone, the newsies left the alley and headed to their new location, a few blocks away. They quickly adapted to their new surroundings and continued selling papers. A few weeks later they heard the Delancey's had been let out of jail on good behavior. Crack had had a run in with them and told the newsies the whole story.

"They stopped me on the street on my way to lunch," she told them while they ate their lunch at Tibby's. "They said they was done messing with people or doing anything that might get 'dem thrown back in jail. So our little trick woiked."

"Hoe do you know they'se didn't just say dat to get you to let your guard down?" Jack asked.

"Because I know my brudders better dan you," she told him.

She turned out to be right because they Delancey's never gave them anymore trouble. Jail was just what the Delancey's had needed.


End file.
